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She laughed. “Waiting eagerly, I am sure.”

The servant poured his juice and Duncan took a long, deep sip as he held his wife’s eyes across the table. “Don’t be late,” he said as he put the glass down. “Lest I am forced to start without you.”

“I do not mind the sound of that.”

He laughed. “Test me then. See what happens.”

“And miss out on all the fun? Not on your life.”

It had been five days since the Clementine Ball and those five days had been the best of this marriage so far.

Somehow, Duncan was enjoying himself even more than he had when Isabella and he had been enjoying their roleplay.

It had started on the balcony, when Duncan had taken a chance and asked Isabella to kiss him. It had felt like a gamble at the time, as if there might have been a chance that a kiss from this woman who he was clearly attracted to might not do anything to excite him.

How wrong he had been.

That kiss changed everything. What they had done on the balcony right after, had changed everything. The realization that the attraction they felt was very real, that they no longer had to fight at every turn, and what this might mean for the future of their marriage,

“So,” Duncan sighed. “Are you going to tell me where it is that you are going?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

He snorted. “Careful now, you might make me upset.”

“Lucky that I know how to calm you...” She licked her lips as she looked at him, and Duncan groaned as if she had a hand wrapped around his member and was squeezing it.

“Isabella...”

“I am seeing my sister,” she pivoted quickly, enjoying how effortless it was to tease him. “I have not heard from her in days – nor has she replied to my letters. So, I think it is time I pay her a visit.”

“Oh. Is everything fine? Nothing to be alarmed about?”

“Likely,” Isabella sighed. “My sister, although I love her, can be a little... what is the word?” she considered. “Dramatic. And moody.”

“Coming from you?”

Isabella looked warningly at him. “Hopefully, it is nothing. But I will know once I see her later.”

Duncan nodded. “I suppose I will have to find ways to entertain myself today then, won’t I?”

“I almost feel bad for you. Whatever will you do without me?”

“You like to pretend that you have all the power here but let us be honest...” He shrugged. “You would be lost without me here to sate your appetite.”

“Is that what you think?”

“It is what I know.”

She grinned. “Keep waiting then. See what happens.”

He wanted her. He wanted her as much as he ever had. It was indescribable to Duncan, a type of attraction that he had never felt before. He had always found this sort of romance boring in the past, and safer because of it. It would keep him from becoming obsessed because how could he possibly with such a mediocre relationship?

What was happening between him and Isabella was something that Duncan didn’t understand but was more than happy to go along with.

They broke their fast together that morning. Their conversation pleasant and not boring. Now that they were past their bickering and no longer nervous or unsure of how to treat the other, there was no tension or strain when they spoke, and this allowed them to speak naturally for the first time. To have conversations that meant something. Slowly, day by day, Duncan was getting to know his wife properly for the first time.

When Isabella left to see her sister afterwards, Duncan gave her a kiss on the lips which she returned in kind – no sense of surprise from her that he had done such a thing. That alone lit a fire in his belly.